Outside the city, a green military transport circled the perimeter.
Those inside watched flames and screams erupt across the city, saw silhouettes of Monsters, and simply didn't dare fly any closer.
Lu Rong stared through the window at the city ahead, his face ugly.
He'd rushed over after hearing there was a life-extending serum; he never expected this.
"Get us out—head straight for the border!" Lu Rong barked at the pilot.
A Fourth-level Awakener, usually a VIP wherever he went, now only wanted to flee the Monster onslaught.
"Roger!" The pilot banked and flew off at once.
"Don't blame me for not saving you—against the Monster Association even I'm powerless." Lu Rong kept his composure so his men wouldn't see him rattled.
The last time Monsters assaulted a city on this scale was in Anna Country; back then even a Level Five from Xuanjian Division had died in battle.
News of the attack reached Xuanjian Division almost immediately.
Inside the Division building, Jiang Ao—who hadn't left—stood before Bai Wenliang. "Director, just nuke Jinghe Country."
Bai Wenliang pocketed his phone, calm as ever. "Two warheads. Make it clean."
"On it." Jiang Ao stepped out, phone already to his ear.
Sixty seconds later, two hypersonic missiles carrying nuclear payloads lifted off from Town City missile base and streaked toward Jinghe Kingdom.
Neither the Supersonic Group nor the Jinghe high command warranted even a shrug.
Meanwhile, inside Jiang Yan's villa in Liyang Country.
He'd been monitoring Lei Xiangchen's operation; when his Evil Eye told him Xuanjian Division had launched nukes…
…he smirked coldly. "Fast and ruthless. A few more of these and Xuanjian will out-kill the Monster Association."
He pulled out his phone and ordered Lei Xiangchen to pull back.
The real goal was to extract personnel; the siege had merely been Wei Gaocheng's whim.
Inside Jinghe Kingdom, Monsters ravaging the city suddenly froze.
The star seals on their arms flashed; cursing, they spun and sprinted away.
"Damn Xuanjian bastards—one click in an office kills more than I do all day!" a two-metre blue humanoid spider snarled while dashing out.
Beside him a black-armoured baboon sneered. "With our speed we'll be outside the blast zone long before the nukes arrive; it's the locals who'll 'enjoy' the fallout."
Unless caught in the fireball, a bit of radiation meant nothing to their mutated bodies.
In under a minute the Monsters that had been tearing the city apart vanished completely.
A middle-aged man, terror still frozen on his face, looked around in bewilderment—no creatures in sight.
Moments earlier a serpent Monster had been about to catch him when it froze, then bolted for the city limits.
"What the hell…?" His fear gave way to blank confusion; many survivors on the street shared it.
Still trembling, they banded together—safety in numbers.
"Let's dig people out—who knows why those things retreated," someone shouted.
The crowd sprang into action. During raids Monsters always targeted load-bearing pillars—faster than hunting individuals.
It also left mountains of rubble.
Survivors clawed at the debris, frantic to free those trapped beneath.
They worked nonstop—until, half an hour later, two missiles that had flown over six thousand km appeared above them.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
No one had time to react. The instant the warheads touched ground two blinding spheres of light blossomed, expanding at terrifying speed.
Rumble—!
The earth shook; tens of millions of degrees vaporised buildings, steel, people at the epicentre.
Even surface rock fused into scarlet magma.
Night turned to noon; super-heated air shimmered as the entire city was flattened, two colossal mushroom clouds surging skyward.
Rumble—!
Vehicles nearly a hundred kilometres away felt the dull tremor.
Liang Dong flinched at the sound and spun around, but trees blocked his view.
"No point looking—Xuanjian just nuked your hometown flat," Lei Xiangchen said without turning.
"What?!" Liang Dong's mind went blank.
He had no family there—only classmates.
He didn't ask why; Monsters had to be involved.
Lei Xiangchen glanced back. "Relax. At HQ you're safe—no nuke can reach us. Now tell me exactly what you can do."
"All right." Liang Dong calmed himself and described his ability in detail.
Online, word of the obliterated city never surfaced; both Teya Alliance and Xuanjian Division clamped down, and Jinghe itself dared not protest.
The Supersonic Group never showed either—unable to beat Monsters and unwilling to offend Xuanjian, they stayed silent… One day later, after switching planes mid-route, Lei Xiangchen's party arrived at Jiang Yan's villa with Liang Dong.
"President, we've brought him," Lei Xiangchen said respectfully to Jiang Yan, who was watching the news.
Liang Dong stood stiffly—an eighteen-year-old student, however calm, couldn't help but feel nervous before someone at the planet's pinnacle.
Jiang Yan rose and looked him over. "Liang Dong, I know your power. The only side-effect is shortened lifespan—become a Monster and that's no longer an issue."
As he spoke, a Bodyguard in black entered carrying a small silver case; he opened it before Liang Dong.